One of the big topics of social conversation in Portland last week was the anonymous Portland Point blog's ruthless, somewhat self-negating takedown of the Honey Clouds' May 23 CD-release show (portlandpoint.wordpress.com). The most provocative element of the post (which, in general, most agree made some respectable observations in a hostile, unthoughtful tone) was the discussion that followed and the questions it raised. Are local music critics too soft on local bands? What makes a band "sloppy," and is that a bad thing? And, most prominently (and futilely): Who are you, Portland Point, and why won't you reveal yourself?

The post was, perhaps inevitably, tempered by a more reasoned response later (along with an explanation of why the author wishes to remain anonymous — a fellow critic can't help but sympathize a little bit with wanting to be sheltered from the backlash of a negative review), but its implications got me thinking about how both critics and the community treat our bands. Concerts at SPACE Gallery and Geno's Saturday amplified my internal debate.

At SPACE, the newish five-piece isobell marked the release of their first album, Maproom, and raised this question: Just what is the right way to write a negative review? The group are formed of two commendable elements — dynamic, free-associative vocalist Hannah Tarkinson; and a slick and talented backup band — that are almost completely at odds with one another. As Tarkinson's yelps and coos defy and perhaps seek to antagonize traditional song structures, her band are enslaved by those same structures. The tension in that dichotomy is initially and intermittently interesting, but ultimately, it's theoretical: isobell seem oblivious to the fact that their two parts don't make much sense together.

Moneycastasia's exhilarating final gig (an amicable split: members are focusing on other projects and/or higher education) at Geno's raised a follow-up question: How much value is there in using column space to (almost always inadequately) critique a band you don't like when there are others that haven't received enough attention?

Like isobell, Moneycastasia are comprised of excellent musicians (guitarist Leif Sherman Curtis, drummer Brendan Pajak, bassist Shannon Allen, and Jacob Cooley on keys), but the band perpetually test the boundaries of their post-rock foundation. Their (mostly) instrumentals were peppered with jazz progressions, heavy riffs, proggy keyboard, roadhouse stomp, and rapid handclaps, practically upending their genre by throwing the kitchen sink at it. The healthy, attentive crowd — a number of whom, like me, had never seen the band before — remained rapt until the set ended well after 1 am.

The shows suggested a possible compromise in the Portland Point debate. Yes, all of us fans and reviewers ought to be more constructive and straightforward about what we perceive as a band's flaws, but we should be just as rigorous in encouraging people (including ourselves) to support bands they may not be familiar with, so that a band as thoroughly impressive as Moneycastasia might be memorialized by more than a small — if hearty and ardent — cult. Let's ensure that the band's two upcoming, posthumous releases receive the attention they deserve.

TEN YEARS, A WAVE | September 26, 2014 As the festival has evolved, examples of Fowlie’s preferred breed of film—once a small niche of the documentary universe—have become a lot more common, a lot more variegated, and a lot more accomplished.

GIRLS (AND BOYS) ON FILM | July 11, 2014 The Maine International Film Festival, now in its 17th year in Waterville, remains one of the region’s more ambitious cultural institutions, less bound by a singular ambition than a desire to convey the breadth and depth of cinema’s past and present. (This, and a healthy dose of music and human-interest documentaries.) On that account, MIFF ’14 is an impressive achievement, offering area filmgoers its best program in years. With so much to survey, let’s make haste with the recommendations. (Particularly emphatic suggestions are marked in bold print.)

AMERICAN VALUES | June 11, 2014 The Immigrant seamlessly folds elements of New York history and the American promise into a story about the varieties of captivity and loyalty.

CHARACTER IS POLITICAL | April 10, 2014 Kelly Reichardt, one of the most admired and resourceful voices in American independent cinema, appears at the Portland Museum of Art Friday night to participate in a weekend-long retrospective of her three most recent films.

LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX | April 09, 2014 Throughout its two volumes and four hours of explicit sexuality, masochism, philosophical debate, and self-analysis, Nymphomaniac remains the steadfast vision of a director talking to himself, and assuming you’ll be interested enough in him to listen and pay close attention.